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Dept. of Politics
Tuesday, 2 April 2019 07:42 pmLori Lightfoot
According to the Associated Press, the Chicago Tribune, and the Chicago Sun-Times, Lori Lightfoot has overwhelmingly won the election to become Mayor of Chicago. She is only the third African American to hold the position, the second woman, and the first openly gay candidate. She's also the most progressive candidate.
It would have been a win-win situation as far as our household was concerned; Lightfoot's opponent was Toni Preckwinckle, a black woman who is the first woman president of the Cook County Board, as well as being the head of the Cook County Democratic Party. She had her own progressive history as a Chicago alderman, and although that cred had eroded over the years as she rose in the party heirarchy, it wasn't gone.
But Lightfoot was our choice, and she has won.
She has inherited a city with huge financial problems, one with a horrendous history of systemic racism that is especially glaring in the way its police department operates (as far as this union maid is concerned, the Fraternal Order of Police is one of the few bad unions.)
But she knows that. And I think she's willing to put in the work, and she's tough enough to take on some of the bad faith operators.
Here's the editorial from the Sun-Times when that paper (my old, old paper, and the one I still feel more attuned to than my last employer) endorsed her. It's a beautiful piece of editorial writing, and it therefore puts the case beautifully for Lori Lightfoot.
This is the first time, since Harold Washington's two mayoral wins back in the 1980s that I've felt this hopeful about my city. Come to think of it, it's one of the few times since November of 2016 that I've felt politically hopeful. (Winning back the House in D.C. this year was only half the battle, so my happiness was definitely measured.)
According to the Associated Press, the Chicago Tribune, and the Chicago Sun-Times, Lori Lightfoot has overwhelmingly won the election to become Mayor of Chicago. She is only the third African American to hold the position, the second woman, and the first openly gay candidate. She's also the most progressive candidate.
It would have been a win-win situation as far as our household was concerned; Lightfoot's opponent was Toni Preckwinckle, a black woman who is the first woman president of the Cook County Board, as well as being the head of the Cook County Democratic Party. She had her own progressive history as a Chicago alderman, and although that cred had eroded over the years as she rose in the party heirarchy, it wasn't gone.
But Lightfoot was our choice, and she has won.
She has inherited a city with huge financial problems, one with a horrendous history of systemic racism that is especially glaring in the way its police department operates (as far as this union maid is concerned, the Fraternal Order of Police is one of the few bad unions.)
But she knows that. And I think she's willing to put in the work, and she's tough enough to take on some of the bad faith operators.
Here's the editorial from the Sun-Times when that paper (my old, old paper, and the one I still feel more attuned to than my last employer) endorsed her. It's a beautiful piece of editorial writing, and it therefore puts the case beautifully for Lori Lightfoot.
This is the first time, since Harold Washington's two mayoral wins back in the 1980s that I've felt this hopeful about my city. Come to think of it, it's one of the few times since November of 2016 that I've felt politically hopeful. (Winning back the House in D.C. this year was only half the battle, so my happiness was definitely measured.)
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